Food might be the best reason to come to Israel that nobody warned you about. It’s a delicious collision of traditions — Levantine, North African, Yemenite, Persian, Eastern European Jewish and Mediterranean — pulled together by waves of immigration and built on superb local produce. This is the national overview: the dishes to chase, where the regional flavours live, and the markets where it all comes together. For the city deep-dives, see our Tel Aviv food guide and the kosher food guide — this page is the map that ties them together.
The dishes to try
- Hummus — taken with near-religious seriousness. Eaten warm at a dedicated hummusiya, often for breakfast or lunch, mopped up with fresh pita. Try it masabacha (with whole chickpeas) or topped with ful (fava beans). The top addresses — Abu Hassan in Jaffa, Abu Shukri in Jerusalem, Hummus Said in Akko — are mapped in the Israel hummus trail.
- Falafel — deep-fried chickpea balls stuffed into pita with salads, pickles and tahini. The classic cheap, fast lunch.
- Sabich — the Iraqi-Jewish sandwich of fried aubergine, hard-boiled egg, salad, amba (mango pickle) and tahini in pita. A Tel Aviv obsession.
- Shakshuka — eggs poached in a spiced tomato-and-pepper sauce, served in the pan with bread. The national brunch.
- Mezze & mixed grill — the spread of small plates (baba ganoush, tabbouleh, labneh, pickles) and grilled meats at the heart of Levantine and Arab-Israeli dining.
- Bourekas — flaky filled pastries (cheese, potato, spinach) from the bakery, a snack at any hour.
- Schnitzel & Israeli salad — the home-cooking everyday staples; the finely diced tomato-cucumber salad appears at every meal.
- Knafeh — warm, syrup-soaked cheese pastry under shredded pastry threads. The great dessert, superb in Akko and Nazareth.
- Malabi & halva — rosewater milk pudding and sesame confection; halva by the slab is a market essential.
Wash it down with fresh pomegranate or orange juice, mint lemonade (limonana), strong Turkish coffee, or a local craft beer or Israeli wine.
Breakfast, the Israeli way
The Israeli breakfast is a national institution and reason enough to book a hotel that serves it. Expect a generous spread rather than a single plate: cheeses (from creamy labneh to salty Bulgarian feta), an array of salads, olives, fresh bread and pastries, eggs to order, shakshuka, smoked and pickled fish, tahini, halva, and bowls of cut vegetables. It traces back to the kibbutz dairy farms, where workers ate a hearty dawn meal of the farm’s own produce, and it has become the country’s most beloved meal. Even modest cafés do an excellent aruchat boker (breakfast) — order one to share and you may not need lunch. It is also one of the easiest ways for vegetarians and the kosher-curious to eat widely in a single sitting.
Sweets, snacks and street nibbles
Beyond knafeh, Israel has a deep sweet tooth shaped by Jewish, Arab and European traditions. Rugelach — small, chocolate-or-cinnamon-filled rolled pastries — are a Jerusalem obsession, with the bakeries of Mahane Yehuda drawing pilgrims of their own. Baklava and other syrup-soaked filo sweets fill the Arab confectioners of Nazareth and Akko. Sufganiyot (jam doughnuts) appear everywhere around Hanukkah, and hamantaschen at Purim. For an everyday street snack, look for fresh bagele (sesame-crusted bread rings) sold from carts in the Old City, best with the little twist of za’atar that comes with them. Ice cream and frozen yoghurt parlours are everywhere in summer, and Israeli chocolate and date-based confections make easy edible souvenirs.
Regional flavours
Israeli food is more regional than visitors expect:
- Jerusalem — the famous Jerusalem mixed grill (me’orav), Levantine sweets, and the all-day theatre of Mahane Yehuda market.
- Tel Aviv — the modern, boundary-pushing scene: vegan flagships, Yemenite cooking in the Kerem, and the Carmel Market. Our Tel Aviv food guide goes deep here.
- The Galilee & north — Druze cooking in the Golan villages (stuffed grape leaves, labneh, paper-thin saj bread), and the produce-rich farms around the Galilee.
- Arab-Israeli kitchens — Nazareth, Akko, Haifa’s Wadi Nisnas and old Jaffa are the heartland of mezze, grills and the country’s best knafeh.
- The Negev & south — Bedouin hospitality in the Negev means flame-cooked breads, slow-cooked meats and cardamom coffee in a desert tent.
The markets
Israel’s shuks (markets) are the single best way to eat. They’re equal parts grocery, street-food hall and, after dark, nightlife:
- Mahane Yehuda, Jerusalem — the country’s most famous market; spice stalls and bakeries by day, bars and restaurants by night.
- Carmel Market, Tel Aviv — produce, street food and juice stalls in the city’s buzziest lanes.
- Wadi Nisnas, Haifa and the Akko old-city market — the best Arab-Israeli market eating in the north.
A guided food tour through any of these (sold on most tour platforms — see our best tours guide) is a great-value way to taste widely in a couple of hours.
Dietary notes for travellers
- Kosher vs not. Many restaurants are kosher — meat and dairy kept separate, no pork or shellfish, kitchens closed for Shabbat. Plenty are not: Tel Aviv brims with non-kosher restaurants open all week, and Arab and Christian areas serve pork and seafood freely. Our kosher food guide explains what this means in practice.
- Vegetarian & vegan. Among the easiest places in the world for plant-based eating; ask, and you’ll be looked after.
- Allergies. Sesame (tahini) is everywhere, as are nuts in sweets — flag allergies clearly.
- Shabbat timing. Kosher spots close Friday afternoon to Saturday night; in Tel Aviv and Arab areas you’ll still find plenty open. Check what’s open on Shabbat before a Saturday meal out.
Eating well on any budget
Street food and market grazing keep costs low; mid-range restaurants and Tel Aviv’s flagship dining climb fast. As a rough guide, a falafel or sabich pita costs around ₪20–35, a generous hummus plate ₪35–55, a casual sit-down meal ₪70–120 per person, and a mid-range restaurant dinner with a drink ₪150–250. Budget using our cost & budget guide, tip around 10–12% at sit-down restaurants (often added as sherut), and let the markets do the heavy lifting. Tap water is safe and free on request.
How to taste your way around the country
If you want to organise a trip around food, a simple plan works well. Start in Jerusalem for the mixed grill, rugelach and the spice-scented chaos of Mahane Yehuda. Move to Tel Aviv for the modern scene, the Yemenite quarter and the Carmel Market — our Tel Aviv food guide and nightlife guide cover the after-dark side. Head north for Druze cooking in the Golan, Arab-Israeli mezze and knafeh in Nazareth and Akko, and a vineyard lunch in wine country. Finish in the Negev with a Bedouin feast under the stars. A guided food tour in any city is the fastest way to taste broadly and meet the people behind the stalls. Time your eating around Shabbat — Friday-night dinner is the great home meal of the week, and savvy travellers angle for an invitation or a restaurant booking.
Hungry already? Pair this hub with the Tel Aviv food guide, the kosher guide and our regional pages, and build your trip around the table with the first-time in Israel guide. For the morning meal specifically — shakshuka, labneh, bourekas and the full aruchat boker spread — the dedicated Israeli breakfast guide covers the tradition, the best restaurants in Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Jerusalem, and how to choose between hotel buffet and neighbourhood café.